Pressure-fluid-actuated clockwork winding mechanism



1963 c. R. PORTER 3,397,758

PRESSURE-FLUID-ACTUATED CLOCKWORK WINDING MECHANISM Filed A ril 25. 19662 Sheets-Sheet 1 C/zar/eu f7. Parfer INVENTOR.

'ATI'ORIVEY Aug. 20, 1968 C.R. PORTER ,7

PRESSURE-FLUID-ACTUATED CLOCKWORK WINDING MECHANISM Filed April 25, 19662 Sheets-Sheet 2 k v. r I U N *qnnnf Y Li 74 76 I BY m2 av 30 (29 MW?ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,397,758 7 PRESSURE-FLUID-ACTUATEDCLOCKWORK WINDING MECHANISM Charles R. Porter, Houston, Tex., assignorto Loyd R. Goodwin, Fort Worth, Tex. Filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No.544,997 2 Claims. (Cl. 185-40) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Clockworkwinding mechanism for operation by fluid under pressure having apressure fluid hOusing provided with a movable member in and dividingthe interior of the housing transversely and including driving means forwinding a clock spring in response to movement of the member in onedirection and which permits movement of the member in the otherdirection independently of the driving means. The mechanism alsoincludes permanent magnetic means positioned for coaction with thehousing and movable member to control the inflow and outflow of pressurefluid into and out of the housing on one side of the movable member andyieldable means positioned for coaction with the housing and movablemember on the other side of the member to cause the member to move backand forth to wind the clock spring.

This invention relates to winding mechanism for clockworks and the like,and more particularly to winding mechanism which is adapted to beoperated by pressure fluid.

The invention is capable of application for the operation of varioustypes of mechanically driven devices and finds particular utility inconnection with apparatus, such as recording meters and other similarequipment, especially when situated at remote locations such as in oilfields, or other regions Where frequent attendance is difficult andwhere electricity is unavailable.

The invention has for its chief object the provision of pressure fluidoperable mechanism for maintaining clockwork or similar equipment in awound condition,

Another object of the invention is to provide winding mechanism of thetype mentioned which is adjustable for operation at widely differingfluid pressures for use with apparatus having widely varying windingcharacteristics.

A further object of the invention is the prov1s1on of pressure fluidoperated winding mechanism which is of simple design and ruggedconstruction, whose parts are easily replaced for purposes ofmaintennace and repair, and having magnetically operated valvemechanism.

The above and other important objects and advantages of the inventionwill be readily apparent from the following detailed description,constituting a specification of the same, when considered in conjunctionwith the annexed drawings, wherein FIGURE 1 is a perspective view,illustrating the application of the invention in its use as a clockworkwinding apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary top plan view, partly in cross-section, and onan enlarged scale, of a portion of the winding mechanism of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 2,looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal, central, cross-sectional view, on a greatlyenlarged scale, of a preferred embodiment of the pressure fluidmechanism of the invention, showing the same in one position of itsoperation;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 4 showing the pressurefluid mechanism in another position of operation and;

3,397,758 Patented Aug. 20, 1968 FIGURE 6 is a view similar to that ofFIGURE 4, illustrating a somewhat different form of the pressure fluidmechanism of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, the invention isillustrated herein in connection with its application to the winding ofclockwork mechanism of the type commonly used for the operation ofapparatus, such as recording meters employed in oilfield operations, itbeing understood that the invention is also capable of use with numerousother kinds of equipment in which it is desired to operate mechanism bypressure fluid actuated means or to maintain spring mechanism in a woundcondition.

The invention is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 as applied to clockworkmechanism W of conventional construction, such as that used in recordingmeter apparatus, which may be conveniently enclosed in a suitablehousing C, and which has a winding shaft 10 by which the coiled springof such mechanism may be wound up in the usual manner.

Driving mechanism for rotating the shaft 10 in a direction to wind hteclockwork is provided, suitably supported on the housing C, as seen inFIGURES l and 2, as by means of a tubular shaft 12, extending through anopening in the housing and attached thereto by nuts 14, threada-blycarried on the shaft. The tubular shaft 12 carries at its outer end acasing 16, threadably attached thereto and at its inner end a supportarm 18 through which the winding shaft 10 is rotatably extended.

An operating shaft 20 is rotatably extended through the tubular shaft12, and is provided at one end with a sprocket 22 and at the other endwith a toothed ratchet wheel 24 within the casing 16.

The winding shaft 10 carries a sprocket 26 over which an operating chain28 passes, which also passes about the sprocket 22 whereby the windingshaft will be turned in a direction to wind up the clockwork uponrotation of the operating shaft 20 in one direction.

It will be understood that suitable gearing may, if desired, besubstituted for the driving chain 28 and its sprocket 22 and 26 toaccomplish the winding rotation of the shaft 10.

Within the casing 16 an actuating arm 30 is pivotally mounted at itslower end on a cross shaft 32 supported at its opposite ends on the sidewalls of the casing, which arm extends upwardly past the ratchet wheel24 and carries at its upper end a ratchet arm 34 pivotally supported onthe actuating arm and whose outer end is held in a position to engagethe teeth of the ratchet wheel, as by means of a coil spring 35positioned between the arms 30 and 34 for coaction therewith to maintainthe arm 34 in engagement with the ratchet wheel. A detent arm 38 is alsopivotally carried on the shaft 32 and is yieldingly urged intoengagement at its upper end with the teeth of the wheel 24, as by meansof a coil spring 40, to cause the ratchet wheel to exert a force on thedetent tending to urge the lever arm 30 to the right.

By this arrangement a winding swinging movement of the actuating arm 30to the left about the shaft 32, as viewed in FIGURE 3, will move theratchet arm 34 in a direction to rotate the wheel 24 counterclockwise,and upon the return swinging movement of the arm 30 to the right, to theposition shown in FIGURE 3, the ratchet wheel will be held in itsposition of advanced rotation by the detent 3-8 while the ratchet arm 34moves to the right with the arm 30 to reengage the ratchet wheelpreparatory to the next winding movement of the actuating arm. The abovedescribed winding rotation of the ratchet wheel 24 results in windingoperation of the winding shaft 10 to wind up the clockwork. A preferredform of the pressure fluid operated mechanism by which the abovedescribed winding mechanism is actuated is illustrated in FIGURES 4 and5, which includes a diaphragm housing formed in two parts, 42 and 44,provided with external flanges 46 and 48, respectively, adapted to besecured together, as by means of bolts 50, to clamp between them aflexible diaphragm 52 which extends across the interior of the casingcentrally thereof.

An actuating element or stem 54 is attached centrally to the diaphragm52 for movement therewith and extends at its free end through an opening56 in the casing port 46 for engagement with the actuating arm 30 toswing the arm in its winding direction upon flexing of the diaphragmfrom the position of FIGURE 4 to that of FIGURE 5.

The inner end portion of the element 54 is provided with a counterbore58, within which a tubular member 60 carried centrally by the casingpart 44 is slidably extended. The member 60 extends through a centralopening in the part 44 and is closed at its inner end, while its outerend is open to the exterior of the casing.

A permanent magnetic element 62, which may conveniently be of ring shapeis carried by the element 54 in surrounding relation to the member 60,for movement with the diaphragm 52 longitudina1ly of the member 60.

An elongated valve actuating member 64 is movably disposed in the member60 for longitudinal movement therein and which carries at its inner enda permanent magnetic element 66. The member 64 has an opening 68extending laterally through its outer end portion into which the freeend of a lever 70* is extended, which lever is pivotally attached at itsother end to an external lug 72 on the casing part 44. The lever 70 alsoextends through a radial opening in a ring or washer shaped lever 74,surrounding the member 64 and pivotally connected to an external lug 76located diametrically opposite the lug 72, for bodily swinging movementtoward and away from the casing part 44. The member 64 has an adjustingscrew 78 whose inner end is positioned to be engaged by the lever 70 tolimit the free movement of the member longitudinally of the member 60relative to the lever. By this arrangement it will be apparent thatoutward longitudinal movement of the member 64 will result in swingingmovement of the lever 70 and the ring 74 away from the casing part 44,while inward movement of the member 64 will swing the lever 70 and thering shaped lever 74 therewith toward the casing part 44.

A valve block 80 is attached to the exterior of the casing part 44,which block has a passageway 82 in comrnunication with a part 84 in thecasing part 44 leading into the interior of the casing on one side ofthe diaphragm 52. The passageway 82 leads to the exterior of the casingand is also in communication with an inlet pipe 88 from a source ofpressure fluid under the control of an inlet valve 90 slidably carriedin the block 80 and whose stem extends to the exterior. The ring 74 hasa seat 92 mounted thereon in position to close the outlet end of thepassageway 82 when the ring swings toward the casing part 44 and to openthe same upon swinging movement of the ring away from the casing part44. The seat 94 is also engageable with the stem of the valve 90 to openthe valve 90 when the seat is moved to a position to shut oil theoutflow of fluid through passageway 82 and to allow the valve 90' toclose when the passageway 82' is-open to such outflow.

Suitable means, such as the coil spring 94 is positioned in the casingpart 42 to yieldingly urge the diaphragm in a direction to retract theelement or stem 54.

One or more ports 96 may be provided in the casing part 42 to yieldinglyurge the diaphragm in a direction to retract the element or stem 54.

One or more ports 96 may be provided in the casing part 42 to allow therapid equalization of the pressure inside of the casing on one side ofthe diaphragm with the pressure exteriorly of the casing.

The pressure inlet pipe 88 is suitably connected to a source of fluidunder pressure, such as a pressure tank 98, whereby fluid at apredetermined pressure may be supplied to the interior of the casingpart 44 under the control of suitable pressure regulating mechanismofthe usual type.

The permanent magnets 62 and 66 are preferably arranged in repulsingrelation, that is, with the like magnetic poles positioned in proximityto one another.

In the operation of the winding mechanism, assuming that the clockworkis fully wound, the pressure fluid mechanism will be in the positionillustrated in FIGURE 4, the diaphragm 52 being held in the positionshown, against the pressure of fluid in the casing part 44 by therepulsive force exerted by the magnets to hold the valve open and toclose the passageway 82 against the outflow of fluid therethrough. Whenthe unwinding force on the mechanism is reduced by the running down ofthe clockwork, with the winding mechanism in the position of FIGURE 4,the force holding the diaphragm against the pressure in the casing part44 will be reduced, so that the pressure will flex the diaphragm to theposition of FIGURE 5, thus moving the magnet 62 to a position to repelthe magnet 66 in a direction to move the ring 74 away from the casingpart 44 to open passageway 82 to exhaust and to allow valve 90 to close.The movement of the diaphragm to the left, as seen in FIGURE 5 willextend the actuator element 54 in engagement with the actuating arm 30to swing the arm to the left about the shaft 32, thus moving the ratchetarm 34 to rotate the wheel 24 to exert a winding action on theclockwork, whereupon the increased winding force of the clockwork on theratchet wheel plus the force of the spring 94 will return the diaphragmto the position of FIGURE 4, moving magnet 62 to a position to repelmagnet 66 to move the ring 74 away from the casing part 44 resulting inopening of the valve 90 and closing of the passageway 82 against theoutflow of fluid to repressurize the casing part 44 preparatory to thenext winding movement.

It will be apparent that by making the spring 94 of suitable size andproperly regulating the pressure of fluid supplied to the pressure fluidmechanism, the apparatus may be adjusted to maintain a clockwork of anysize in a constantly wound condition.

A somewhat diflerent form of the invention is illustrated in FIGURE 6wherein the casing of the pressure fluid mechanism comprises acylindrical part 44' which is provided with a cover part 42 in the formof a flat plate through which the actuator member is slidably extended.In this form of the invention the actuator member 54' is formed with apiston portion 100 disposed in the cylinder 44 to take the place of thediaphragm 52, and which carries a permanent magnet element 60' similarto the element 60 previously described. The piston 100 is provided withsuitable seal forming means, such as the O-rings 102, positioned inannular grooves for receiving the same, by which a fluid tight seal ismaintained between the piston and the internal surface of the cylinder.In other respects this form of the invention is the same as thatillustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5 and operates in a similar manner.

The invention is disclosed herein in connection with certain specificembodiments of the same, which are intended by way of illustration only,it being evident that various changes can be made in the constructionand arrangement of the parts within the spirit of the invention and thescope of the appended claims.

Having thus clearly shown and described the invention, what is claimedas new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In winding mechanism for clockwork having a spring and a rotatablewinding shaft for the spring, a rotatably mounted driving shaft, meansforming a driving connection between the driving shaft and said windingshaft to rotate the winding shaft with the driving shaft against theresistance of said spring, and pressure fluid responsive means forrotating the driving shaft in a direction to wind said spring comprisinga hollow housing, a movable member in and dividing the interior of thehousing transversely, means for introducing fluid under pressure intothe housing on one side of said member to urge the member in onedirection in the housing, permanent magnetic means positioned forcoaction with the housing and member upon movement of the member in saidone direction to allow an outflow of fluid on said one side of saidmember from the housing and to prevent such outflow upon movement ofsaid member in the other direction in the housing and yieldable meanspositioned for coaction with the housing and member to yieldingly urgesaid member in said other direction.

2. The winding mechanism of claim 1 wherein said pressure fluidresponsive means includes means for allowing an outflow of fluid fromthe housing on said one side of said member comprising a port in thehousing through which fluid on said one side of said member may flow outof the housing, valve means positioned to open and close ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 381,571 4/1888 Mills.

497,331 5/ 1893 Martindale 5842 XR 2,491,361 12/1949 Burdick 58422,779,152 1/ 1957 Flagiello.

2,758,569 8/ 1956 Peterson. 3,150,570 9/1964 Johnson et a1. 92172 XREDGAR W. GEOGHEGAN, Primary Examiner.

